An archeological excavation in the small Danish village of Lisbjerg has unearthed a burial site from the Viking Age with possible links to the Danish royal line. The graves have revealed a number of ancient artifacts and also a rare pagan coffin.
A diverse set of Viking burials
Lisbjerg is located on the outskirts of Aarhus, Denmark's second-largest city.
A recent excavation carried out by archeologists from the local Moesgaard Museum has unearthed approximately 30 graves. The site has been dated to around the second half of the 10th century, indicating the burials took place in the late pagan era of the Danish Viking Age.
There are many differences between the graves in terms of both size and contents, almost certainly indicating the varying social status of the people buried here.
The grave goods—items intentionally placed in a burial with a deceased person—identified so far include ceramics, beads, sharpening stones, coins, and even a pair of scissors.
Unusually, one of the graves also contained a coffin structure. The coffin, which is one of the only examples of its kind found in pagan Denmark, contained a series of ornaments and personal belongings and is thought to have belonged to a local woman of high status.
Despite its rarity, this is the second pagan coffin from the Viking Age to be found in the local area, with another discovered 12 kilometers away at the village of Haldum.
Protective measures are taken during the recovery of a rare wooden coffin found in one of the Viking Age graves at Lisbjerg. Photo: Moesgaard Museum
Noble connections
An earlier Viking Age site at Lisbjerg, Stormandsgården, was excavated in the grounds of the village church in 1989, revealing the remains of a palisade fence and a three-meter-wide entrance gate.
This fenced area was found to be around 19,000 m² in size, indicating the presence of a powerful local family. The graves excavated over the past few weeks are situated just a short distance from the farm.
Although analysis of the burial site is still in its early stages, it seems probable that there is a connection to the large manor residence.
"The burial site is most likely associated with the nobleman's farm in Lisbjerg from the Viking Age, which is located less than a kilometer from the burial site," Mads Ravn, head of local cultural heritage at Moesgaard, commented on the museum's website.
"The objects we have found in the graves tell us that the buried are people of high status—it could be the extended family from the farm itself that is buried here."
Sharpening stones and ceramic vessels recovered from Viking Age graves at Lisbjerg are carefully packed for conservation. Photo: Moesgaard Museum
A city of influence
Believed to be one of Denmark's oldest cities, Aarhus was a major center of royal authority and international trade during the later Viking Age.
The area around Aarhus has revealed a number of other Viking Age artifacts and settlements, while the manor house found at Stormandsgården is thought to have been connected to the main settlement of Aarhus as far back as the 900s.
The archeologists who worked on the excavation believe the local nobles may also have had connections to the reigning Danish monarch, Harald Bluetooth.
"The finds in Lisbjerg are part of a series of previous fine finds in the Aarhus area," commented Kasper H. Andersen, a Viking Age historian at Moesgaard.
"Together, they paint the picture of an aristocratic environment that was linked to royal power, and which was part of the Vikings' vast and dynamic world."
Further analysis of both the burial site and the historical items uncovered is expected to take place in the coming months. It is also hoped that some of the artifacts will eventually be placed on display to the general public at the Moesgaard Museum.
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